(no subject)

[rootbound]

Who: Vern, Geir, and you
Where: The western slopes of the Hub mountain
When: Day 86
Open/Closed: Open

[after Jay's mapping trip of the day before, two of the party returned to the mountain's southwestern slopes. they're looking for a cave, and after that exploratory trip, they think they know more or less where they'll find one. it takes some searching slightly north of where the mapping team left off, but Vern and Geir eventually find a location that will work for their purposes… with a few caveats.

((reply to either open prompt or make your own! Vern and Geir will both reply.))



finding the cave - locked to Geir
[they've been over this section of the mountain three times, augh. everything is too small, too small, too small -- are there any caves that are actually a decent size around here?

("small" is very relative when you're traveling with a dragon.)

For reference: "A cave that fits the size and water parameters can be located near the western mountain-front. There are plenty of small tunnels from animals (or some other source) that can allow for smoke to go into them, but it may not be the most difficult cave to access.

The cave itself a fair amount of boar bones, which may indicate that it's some sort of boar death site. This also means there's not exactly a pleasant smell in the cave, but they can potentially burn the smell out with flowers or shrubbery."]



taking out the trash - ota
[the cave that they eventually find and claim needs some work, by any stretch of the imagination. it's located on the western mountain front only a few minutes north of where the mapping party left off, and it's perfect in several respects: big enough for Geir, sufficient ventilation from small animal tunnels to make a fire without worrying, fresh running water from a deep stream only a few feet from the entrance…

the problem is the smell. right now, Geir is shoveling bones and dessicated boar bits out of the entrance, while Vern winces and tries to weave pads out of grasses to start his scrubbing.]

How many of those things died in here?!

[unfortunately, Geir isn't being particularly private in his mental grumbling, and both his commentary -- and Vern's shushing -- occasionally get transmitted over the network. feel free to track him and Vern down, or just mentally yell at them.]



pool boy and maid service - ota
[now that all of the bones are lying in inelegant piles in their front yard instead of in their living room, Vern has started his self-appointed task of scrubbing the smell of death off their walls and floor, as well as figuring out how to build a fire to start smoking the smell out. Geir, on the other hand, is digging in the middle of the stream like a lunatic. they’re both making a lot of noise, the smoke is pretty obvious, and the trail through the woods to their new front door is a lot more open and inviting than they'd prefer… they’re very noticeable if you’re exploring yourself and happen to come around this area.]

Comments

[bulletbiter]

[ Julius has ditched his hood now that his body has mended a bit more; there's still a curl of white on his neck, but enough of it has subsided from his face to make it passably human. His discussion with Madhuri has also given him some ideas. ]

Do you need help?

[ His strength has returned. But more importantly, he has a tentative plan. ]

[rootandbranch]

Julius!

[Geir lights up when he sees the young man; it's certainly nice to see Julius looking better. he seems less brooding than it was the last time they had a long conversation, too, more forward-looking and determined. Geir is pleased to see it.

he doesn't quite know how Julius found them here, though, and it's certainly unexpected that anyone would follow them out here just to offer their help. so he follows up on that introduction with a fair degree of surprise and puzzlement.]

Um, sure? We're just clearing the cave out right now...

no worries!

[bulletbiter]

I'll help.

[ He has nothing much to do other than grow the garden so it might be better to find a change of pace. The smell, though... ]

What's inside...?

[rootandbranch]

Boar leftovers.

[Geir wrinkles his nose, closing his nostrils off from the air for a moment. even if he's more prosaic about the stink than his human companion, it's not pleasant.]

I got the bones out already, but the smell is still all over the walls and floor. I don't know what happened... maybe they all had a disease and went in there to die.

[bulletbiter]

Can you breathe fire?

[ It's an idea, at least...? The mystery of the cave aside, this seemed to be the most important task. ]

[rootandbranch]

Fire? No, why?

[the ideas is obviously baffling to Geir -- he must not come from a tradition of fire-breathing dragons. he does cough surreptitiously to himself, just to check if that's suddenly going to become a thing.]

Is that something Qri gave someone--?

[bulletbiter]

No, no. I was just wondering. Flames could sterilize the grime here.

[ Fire-breathing dragons weren't a staple in his world, duly noted. ]

[rootandbranch]

Oh... yeah. Vern has some torches, and he built a fire, but the smoke hasn't really gotten into the walls as much as the smell has yet.

[Geir scratches at his head with a back foot reflectively, like a dog with an itch behind its ear.]

Do you think a bigger fire is the way to go?

[bulletbiter]

I'm not so sure. It'll make it cleaner, but the smell might be worse.

[ Which brings him to another idea: ]

The smell is in the air, so if only we had a way to filter it...

[ He'll walk over to the wall and put his hand onto the damp rock. It's at once a curious and familiar sensation - complete awareness of the cells that make up the point of contact, and then the (slightly frightening) ease with which he could command them to consume.

After about half a minute, he'll remove his hand to reveal a clean patch. Merely being in contact was enough for them to absorb what accumulated on the stone. Perhaps a little of the stone too. ]

Huh.....

[rootandbranch]

[Geir followed him from his place in the water, curious about what he plans to do. once Julius withdraws his hand from the stone, he stretches out his nose to sniff at his palm.]

What did you do?

[bulletbiter]

I... absorbed it, I think.

[ It doesn't affect the pain in his nerves, either. He had hoped it would soothe the Singularity, but at least it didn't have an adverse effect. ]

It'll help with cleaning, if I can figure out how to do it faster.

[rootandbranch]

Does your whatsit-thingy still work, even here? The stuff in your body?

[Geir is curious -- his teeth don't destroy matter as they should right now, so he's surprised that Julius's abilities seem effective. this low frequency thing certainly gets applied differently across different people from different worlds...]

[bulletbiter]

It does. It's not magic. It's just how I am.

[ A curse that resided in the flesh, instead of feeding off magic. A heart that pulsed with an alien life... ]

It's part of my body. I would imagine magic has nothing to do with it.

[rootbound]

[he is also getting a suspicious squint from Vern, though Geir's enthusiastic greeting makes him relax a moment later. a little.]

I guess? You'll want to work with Geir if you don't want to smell copiuously of rot, though.]

[bulletbiter]

[ Suspicious or not, he has a Purpose here. ]

That was what I was wondering about. Is it just the walls, or?

[rootbound]

Walls, floor, ground into the stone, I'm afraid to look at the roof yet since death stalactites aren't really my thing. I don't know what business the boars had here exactly, but it's like every one who ever lived on this island came here to die. Generations of dead meat. Gross.

[he doesn't seem that bothered by it at this point (though he has a rough bandana tied around his nose and mouth to block out the smell), but he is thoroughly grumbly]

[bulletbiter]

[ Just to be sure: ]

What you will be cleaning with?

[rootbound]

[sticks his hands out of the cave too, in answer

he's rigged a bunch of rough grass pads to do it with, and stolen a bucket from somewhere to bail in water from the stream. these are really not the best thing to do the job probably, and don't disinfect the cave at all, but are probably all right for the rough work of getting the initial layer of gore and grime off]

[bulletbiter]

[ There's a slight frown as he regards Vern's apparatus - nothing wrong with it, just that he may have a better way.

Only that he's not quite sure if it'll work, and Vern does not have the same knowledge of him that Geir does. ]

My skill might help. I don't know if it will, but I'd like to try.

[ He'll move over to the wall next to Vern before extending a hand and placing his palm onto the dirtied surface. There's a moment of pause as he focuses on what's in contact with his skin, the grossness reflex tempered down, willing the cells to absorb what was on the rock. After all, one of the Aragami's attributes was to consume all that was not theirs. The grime should be no difficulty.

After about half a minute, he'll remove his hand. There's a clear patch left behind, though it seems like some of the rock has been absorbed as well. ]

[rootbound]

[pauses to contemplate this, one eyebrow raised

...

bemusedly]

You have the magic power of acid hands?

[bulletbiter]

[ Vern can't sense this, but he can certainly feel the cells breaking down what had been smeared onto his hand. And quite rapidly, too - while the pain in his nerves hasn't dulled in the slightest, it seemed like doing it had no adverse effects on the delicate balance of his soul. ]

Not exactly.

[ There's a lot that he still can't reveal. ]

I could help, but I doubt I will be very fast with this.

[rootbound]

I mean, if you want to, you're welcome to. I'm not exactly Sven the Speedy myself about this.

...

[ok i should be at least a little polite? to Geir's friend?]

Thanks. I'm Vern, by the way.

[bulletbiter]

[ Not that Julius seems to mind Vern's pointed words, though. His expression hasn't deviated much from its usual stoic nature. ]

Julius.

[ And that's all he will be sparing before he turns his attention to the wall, wondering if he could try to form membranes between his fingers to make it faster ]

[rootbound]

[his eyebrows stay arched at the lack of response, but he does turn back to work after a moment himself; okay. so Julius isn't a big talker. he can live with that, talking is tiring.]

[bulletbiter]

[ Less talking, more working. He'll have to continue experimenting with the Aragami's absorption ability, so working in silence suits him just fine.

Eventually the strain starts adding to his headache, and he'll opt to sit down for a short while. ]